“Whatever, we’ll buy you a pony or something.” Penny rolls her eyes and then she puffs air at her bangs, trying to get them out of her face. “This is amazing, Tally. The video you made him do walking around the farmers market with his hat on has gone viral. Everyone’s asking where they can find themselves a Walker.”
I feel a strange surge in my chest, a tightening that makes me want to claw at anyone who even looks his way. I can call Walker “Cowboy.” But everyone else better back off.
“How exactly is that going tosave the farm?” Walker puts the last few words in quotes with his fingers.
Penny’s face falls. “Well, I don’t know. But the video has one hundred thousand likes. And I’ve already started responding to every comment, telling them about the farmersmarket and the festival. Plus, I said we host weddings. We can do something with this. We’ve got fans, Tally!”
“Well, Walker has fans.” I murmur. “We need to make the farmers market bigger. We need more to sell. And for the festival.” I’m thinking out loud, trying to figure out what we can do.
Walker leans against the counter. “We’ve got wildflowers we can sell. The tulips are a no-go for now, as are the daffodils. We need them for the festival and the weddings.”
I nod. “Wildflowers work.”
“What about your cupcakes?” Walker asks, turning to me.
“Cupcakes?” my sister parrots.
“Yeah, Tally bakes. She can sell cupcakes,” Walker says, his voice stronger now, his stature tall.
“Yes! Oh my God, you know what we need? Walker eating one of your cupcakes!”
My thighs clench. I shouldn’t be turned on by this conversation, but my brain clearly isn’t working properly. Or maybe it’s the way Walker smirks at me like he’s thinking the very same thing.
“Yeah, Tally, I’d be happy to eat your cupcakes so we could save the farm.”
I kick him in the shin, and he buckles over with a laugh. My eyes widen because I don’t think I’ve ever heard him laugh. It’s a beautiful, deep sound that has my heart racing.
“What’s happening?” Penny asks, completely oblivious as she gets out a pen to take notes.
“Nothing,” I mumble, not willing to share this moment. I want Walker’s laughs, his smiles, his damn dimple, all to myself. “Walker and I will handle the wildflowers and cupcakes. And the cowboy videos. Need anything else?”
She glances down at her pad, where she’s probably got a whole list of ideas.
“No,” she replies, sounding distracted. “I’ll talk to Mom and Rosie and call you back.” My sister’s copper eyes meet mine in the phone. “We’re going to save the farm.”
A smile blooms across my face as I feel a tinge of hope in my chest. “Yeah, we are.”
“Bye, Cowboy!” my sister sings right before the screen goes black.
Walker groans. “Look what you started.”
I grin up at him. “You think this could work?”
“Maybe.”
The oven dings and I bounce toward it to grab the first batch of cupcakes. “Okay, well, I’ll frost these and then we can get some video of you eating them.”
Walker’s head falls back and he lets out the sexiest chuckle I’ve ever heard. It’s shocking and loud and makes my stomach flip. “This is ridiculous, you know that?”
I smile and bite down on my bottom lip. “What do you think of picking some flowers for decoration? It would really sell the farm if the cupcakes are decorated properly.”
He nods as he takes a step closer. “I can do that. Any special requests?”
It’s not even a question. “Wildflowers.”
Walker’s lips tip up in a warm smile and he nods. “All right, wildflowers for my wildflower.”
He disappears before I realize what he just said. And I wonder whether it was a slip of the tongue, or did he really mean to call me his?
